School Days

One of my favorite books to read is the Oxford English Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes edited by Peter and Iona Opie.  I realize that it sounds weird, but go and check out this book.  It is fascinating.  Each rhyme is researched.  The Opies found no connection between Ring Around the Rosie and the bubonic plague.  Rain Rain Go Away is traced back to ancient times.  If I had to pick a job, I would love to have had theirs.  They basically researched and studied the child to child transfer of rhymes and games and well as the sociology of the playground.  Have you ever watched kids play or make up games?  Their rules and standards of behavior are incredibly complex.  If you ever have a chance to read The People in the Playground, that is another fascinating read. 

I was an elementary music teacher for six years.  I always thought I would end up a band director, but in my junior year I was connected with the Kodaly (pronounced co-dye) approach to teaching and my world opened up.  The approach included researching folk music, which meant researching actual field recordings and the history of a song.  I loved it.  I spent hours in the library.  It was heaven.  Eventually, the stress of teaching in inner city schools and dealing with constant funding shortages made me reconsider my career choice.  When you teach small children all day an office job can look pretty appealing, even if you don't get the summers off.  So, I left.  Almost randomly I chose HR as my new career, enrolled in graduate school for an HR degree to help my career and I was off.  When I started having kids, I knew that going back to teaching music would be financially risky, so I did the grown up thing and stuck with Human Resources.

Five years later, after taking one or two classes at a time and the equivalent of two years off to have kids, I am looking at my last year of school.  I was not meant for business school and trying to do it while working full time and raising two small children has almost put me over the edge.  I fantasize about quitting or getting a letter from the dean saying that there's been a mistake with my credits and I get to graduate next semester. Oh, the joy!!  None of that is happening.  In fact, this semester has been......I can't think of the right word.....torture.  My working group for class has been a nightmare which culminated last night with one member dropping the course two hours before our project was due without turning in his work. 

I think my anger comes from a resentment of my own choice.  I look up at my bookshelf and see my Lomax collections and that is what I want to study, not benefits and compensation.  Don't get me wrong, there is a lot about HR that I like, but the satisfaction that I felt when I was teaching just isn't there.  Life is basically on hold until I finish this degree and then I can go back to reading things that I like to read.  I can finally put together baby books for my kids, learn to sew, and start working out again.  I can have my life back.

I'll tell you one thing - as soon as I graduate I am throwing one hell of a party and you are all invited.